site.btaWhite Stork Population in Bulgaria Increasing, Shows 8th International White Stork Census

The population of white storks in Bulgaria is increasing, according to data from the Eight International White Stork Census, which was presented on Thursday at the National Press Club of the Bulgarian News Agency in Sofia.

There are 9,527 white stork nests registered in the country. Of these, 7,749 nests are occupied by pairs of storks. In the previous census in 2014, there were 6,981 nests, and 5,825 were occupied, said Svilen Cheshmedzhiev from the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds (BSPB), who is also the national coordinator of the census. He pointed out that the total number of successfully raised chicks for the period is 17,530.

The regions with the most occupied stork nests and pairs of storks are: Haskovo - 864, Plovdiv - 849, and Sofia - 601. The regions with the fewest nests are Dobrich (76), Gabrovo (62), and Smolyan (5). The municipalities with the highest number of occupied nests are Petrich (276), Samokov (257), and Tundzha (214), he said.

The settlements with the most occupied stork nests in Bulgaria are: the village of Banya (Razlog Municipality) - 51, the village of Rupite (Petrich Municipality) - 50, the village of Rayovo (Samokov Municipality) - 48, the city of Burgas - 48, the village of Dragushinovo (Samokov Municipality) - 46, and the village of Kulata (Petrich Municipality) - 46. The settlements with the highest total number of nests in the country are: Burgas - 59, Dragushinovo village - 58, Rayovo village - 56, Banya village - 55, Belozem village (Rakovski Municipality) - 52, Belchin village (Samokov Municipality) - 51 and Rupite village - 51, according to census data.

Data from the VIII International Census of the species show that over the last ten years its nesting population in Bulgaria has increased by as much as 33%, Cheshmedzhiev  said. 

Cheshmedzhiev said electric poles continue to be the most preferred place for nesting, with a total of 8,339 nests located on them. A total of 76 nests are located on trees, with acacia, pine, mulberry, and poplar being the most commonly used. For comparison, ten years ago there were 201 such nests, he explained. 

There are 539 nests on buildings, with the most commonly used locations being the roofs and chimneys of schools, bakeries, private houses, and church domes. 

"It is encouraging that the number of nests built on artificial platforms has increased dramatically to 5,620", he said. 

"For us as an organization whose main goal is to protect birds and their habitats, it is very important to base our work on real scientific data, to know how many birds there are, whether their numbers are declining, and where the most important places for them are", said Stoycho Stoychev, director of nature conservation at the BSPB. 

The first such detailed census was conducted back in 1934. "Since then, we have been conducting a white stork census every 10 years", he said. 

A total of over 200 volunteers, BSPB employees, experts from the Regional Inspectorates for Environment and Water, representatives of non-governmental organizations, and employees of nature and national parks participated in the white stork census.

The 8th International White Stork Census in Bulgaria was carried out as part of the project “Implementation of the monitoring scheme for common bird species and national census of white stork nests as part of the National Biodiversity Monitoring System,” funded by the Enterprise for Management of Environmental Protection Activities and with the financial support of the Nature And Biodiversity Conservation Union in Germany. The main partner of the BSPB in the VIII International White Stork Census is the Executive Environment Agency under the Environment Ministry, according to the BSPB.